18 Brilliant Facts About Baku

Wondering how to say the name of this wonderful city? It’s pronounced Bah-koo.

The total land area of Baku is 820 square miles (2,130 square kilometres)…

…that’s more than 200 square miles larger than Greater London.

Baku’s population was 2,374,000 in 2015…

…that’s just over 1/4 of the population of Greater London…

…and gives it a population density of around 2,895 residents per square mile.

Baku is located 92 ft below sea level!

In fact, Baku is one of only two capital cities that are officially below sea level; the other is Amsterdam!

Residents of Baku are known as Bakuvians or Azerbaijanis.

Bakuvians enjoy a temperate semi-arid climate with strong winds throughout the year, warm and dry summers, cool and wet winters, a large temperature variation and an average annual temperature of 15.1°C.

Baku is rich in history – it has actually been an ancient trade route since Roman times where goods would be traded between Central Asia and the west!

Make sure you visit the Naftalan Spa if you’re in Baku; if you’re looking for an unusual spa experience then this is definitely for you! Popular since the 6th Century BC and said to heal everything from impotence to skin issues, bathing in crude oil is a once-in-a-lifetime experience!

Social intricacies

The official language of Baku is Azerbaijani.

Azerbaijani New Manat is the official currency here.

Azerbaijan welcomed 2,160,000 tourists into the country in 2014, many of whom visited Baku for its rich history and stunning modern buildings, including the Flame Towers!

Bonus Fact!

Do you know someone lucky enough to live in Baku? You can make cheap calls to Baku with Cherry Call – don’t forget, you’ll also need to use the international dialling code of 00994.

To keep up-to-date with what’s going on in Baku, head over to the News.az website.